Congress confident yet wary of 'newbie' AAP

MUKTSAR: Though their conference at Muktsar on the occasion of Maghi received good response from its supporters and the Congress leaders expressed confidence of "kicking out" Badals in the 2017 assembly elections, the presence of Aam Aadmi Party was not lost on them. All senior Congress leaders "warned" people against 'topiwalas'.
The leaders also sought to project the contrast between Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh, who was repeatedly referred to as protector of state's waters, and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal "who hails from Haryana and can't protect the interests of Punjab in states' disputes".
Starting the tirade, Amarinder said that AAP in Punjab was being run by outsiders - Arvind Kejriwal from Haryana, Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak from UP - and asked that how would they protect the interests of the state.
Referring to the passing of the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act (PTAA) to protect state's water share during his tenure as the chief minister, Amarinder said, "In case of water and other disputes with Haryana, with which state Kejriwal will stand? Haryana or Delhi, where he is the chief minister? Kejriwal is demanding more water for Delhi, but I ensured that fields of Punjab will not be allowed to dry up for want of water. He can't protect interest of Punjab."
"Future of Punjab can't be lost. Already in their two terms, Akalis have brought the state to the brink of devastation, and if somebody like Kejriwal gets five years, who has failed to deliver his promises in Delhi, then state would plummet to a stage from where there will be no revival," he said.
He also took a dig at honesty of AAP leaders, saying they should tell from where they have arranged so much money for buses and other vehicles for transporting people from the whole state and putting up hoardings across Punjab. "They only do drama of honesty," he said.
Former Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa summed up the Congress sentiment and its apprehensions saying, "It is sure that Badals will be kicked out but don't get complacent that we don't have any competition. Our main contest will be against the new party. Please don't commit the political blunder by believing in the third party. Punjab can't afford to gamble on the newcomers."
Former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal tried to ridicule AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal by saying, "Ajj topiwala Haryanavi ithe aaya (Today this cap wearing Haryanavi is here). He should tell people of Punjab in case of dispute will he support Punjab or Haryana."
Even as AAP factor appeared significantly in the leaders' speeches, Congress campaign committee chief Ambika Soni said, "How a yesterday born party will compete with grand old party of Congress they don't have even 10 people with them."